Doomed or Destined?
by NightFury808
Summary: As a strange new disease creeps into ThunderClan camp, will Poppywind and Thrushpaw be destined to save them, or is ThunderClan doomed for destruction? NO FLAMERS!
1. Prologue

"Poppywind?" Someone whispered to me.

My head shot up. "What is it?" I whispered, dreading the news this cat brought me.

"Ashtail is complaining of a sore throat."

My eyes widened. "No…" I whispered.

_Calm down,_ I thought to myself. _Ashtail is probably suffering from a sore throat, nothing else._

Those thoughts vanished when Ashtail stumbled into my den. She had the same conditions as the other two cats lying in their nest, the same puffy eyes and streaming nose. As I rushed to give Ashtail some honey and lavender, I thought about the other two cats, and I knew only too well how this disease, which I now called the Twisted Disease, found its way into out camp.

-Flashback-

"Are you sure we can eat this?" I questioned warily, prodding the strange gray bird with my paw.

"Well, they're stupid, I'll tell you that. I pretty much walked up to it and killed it. It didn't even notice!" Dawnfoot meowed proudly to the growing crowd.

"I don't know if we should eat it." I meowed thoughtfully. "Look at the way the beak is twisted."

"I can see that." Fernflower hissed irritably. "But we can't just let this prey go to waste!"

Before I could stop her, she lunged forward and began to tear at the bird. After a moment's hesitation, Ashtail and Dawnfoot followed her and began tearing ravenously into the bird.

-End Flashback-

"Eat this poppy seed." I told Ashtail. She nodded weakly, licking up the tiny black seed on her paw before falling into sleep.

I sighed. Fernflower and Dawnfoot, the other two who ate the strange new prey, were sleeping in nests beside Ashtail.

It was a cold, hard leaf-bare, and I couldn't understand why there was a bird standing in the middle of the forest. My mind raced with questions. More and more of these birds were being brought back by hunting patrols, almost every cat had eaten one, Except for a couple of senior warriors, who were smart enough to listen to my advice and stay clear of these birds, and the apprentices, who I had given a good scare and they now refused to eat them. I settled into my nest. How long was it till all of ThunderClan was swallowed up by this strange new disease?


	2. Chapter 1 : Victims

Chapter 1

I looked around my den. Dawn had brought two new victims. Cherryflower, a nursing queen who had promised not to feed the new prey to her kits Dovekit and Sparrowkit, and Oaktail, who was a new warrior and refused to listen to me when I warned them of the disease.

Now there were five cats in my den, but how many more would join them there, and how long till ThunderClan died of this disease?

I was so caught up thinking; I didn't notice Thrushpaw pad up behind me.

"Poppywind?" My apprentice meowed.

I jumped. "Thrushpaw! Don't scare me like that!"

Thrushpaw flinched. "Sorry. How are they doing?"

"Not well." I grimaced. "Lavender is the only herb that breaks fever that we can afford to spare right now, but that doesn't seem to help. Even the honey doesn't seem to work!"

"Don't give up!" Thrushpaw pleaded. "Keep trying!"

I nodded. Thrushpaw bounded out of the den, inspecting the food the hunting patrol brought in. No bird with the same twisted beak would be added to the fresh-kill pile.

Suddenly, Sparrowfeather raced up. "Poppywind, help! Shrewpaw is sick!" She panted.

My heart raced. Shrewpaw hadn't been here when I told the apprentices about the birds!

I rushed to the apprentice den, where I saw Shrewpaw, same puffy eyes and streaming nose.

I bent over him. "Shrewpaw, did you eat a gray bird with a twisty beak?"

Shrewpaw opened his eyes and nodded.

I grimaced, before turning to Sparrowfeather. Bring him to my den.

She nodded, before turning to pick him up.

When he was safely sleeping in a nest in my den, I turned and started walking toward the exit to the camp. "Thrushpaw, you're in charge."

Thrushpaw looked thrilled to be in charge, but she called, "Where are you going?"

"To find out what these birds are doing to ThunderClan."


	3. Chapter 2 : Deathberries

Chapter 2

I padded out of the thorn tunnel, using my scent of smell to locate one of those birds. My sharp scent of smell quickly located one of the gray birds, but instead of stalking it, I padded up to it and poked it with my paw. It fell over on its side with a _thump_. I realized that these birds were dead before the warriors caught them. I continued to prod it, and then stopped when I noticed thin pink dust rising from the bird's feathers. I cautiously sniffed the dust, then recoiled when I realized the dust was from crushed deathberries. Cats must have eaten the poisoned birds, and fallen ill. Thankfully, the dust must have only reached the feathers, and not the flesh below, so they didn't die; they'd just fall ill. I felt proud of myself for figuring out the cause of the disease, but if the cure was out there or not… As I grabbed the bird to take it back to my den, a huge Twoleg leapt out of the bush in front of me and screamed, waving his arms about. I froze, and then bolted out of the clearing, not stopping until I reached the thorn tunnel.

-Chris's POV-

"Shut up!" I hissed to my partner Ryan. "Something's coming!"

"Is it a fox?" Ryan asked in a hushed whisper.

I shrugged. It was a great idea, feeding these stupid pigeons yew berries and then waiting till it died and its beak twisted. It was a great new way to kill foxes. I held my breath as the bush in front of us quivered, then let it out as a striped brown cat stepped out. It must have smelled the bird, because it padded up to it and poked it with its paw.

"We have to stop it!" Ryan whispered fretfully.

I nodded, motioning not to move.

The cat recoiled, then leaned to pick it up. As soon as it grabbed it, I leapt out of the bush, screaming and waving my arms.

The cat stared at me, then leapt out of the clearing.

Ryan clambered out of the bush. "_Really_ good job Chris!" He said sarcastically.

I stared at the bush. "Well, I tried."


	4. Chapter 3 : Where is The Cure?

Chapter 3

I raced back to camp, jaws clamped around the source of sickness, though I was careful not to breathe in the deathberry dust. As I reached the camp, I slowed and put the pigeon down, taking deep, steady breaths. Then I squared my shoulders, picked up the bird, and pushed my way into camp. Thrushpaw must have heard me, because she came racing over to me.

"Poppywind, help! Featherkit has a bellyache, and when I gave her a sliver of watermint nothing…" Her voice died as she saw me carrying the infected piece of prey. "Hey, I thought you said those birds aren't to be brought into camp."

"Well, I made the rule, so I'm the one who gets to break it. And, what's wrong with Featherkit?" I meowed, rushing to my den.

Featherkit was lying in a mossy nest. While the bad news of the infected cats was still weighing me down, I managed a smile. I turned her over to find a thorn in her belly. I carefully extracted it, spitting it out, saying, "We really need to clear out those thorn bushes."

Thrushpaw ducked her head in embarrassment. "Sorry."

I shook my head. "Forget about it. Listen, I figured it out!"

Thrushpaw cocked her head. "Figured what out?"

I shoved the bird forward. "When did the cats start to get sick?"

"After they ate these birds."

I nodded. "Now, poke the bird.

Thrushpaw did as she was told, and then stared hard at the bird.

"Is it just me, or is the bird glowing red?"

I purred. "Now, what is the most poisonous berry in the forest that just happens to be red?"

Her head snapped up. "Deathberries. Are they putting deathberry dust on these birds?"  
I nodded. "Silly twolegs."

Thrushpaw still looked troubled. "But, we still need the cure!"

I sighed. "Hopefully, we'll find that too."

**Help me think of Thrushpaw's full medicine cat name. I want the second part to do something about leaves and plants…**


	5. Chapter 4 : Abduction

Chapter 4

-Thrushpaw's POV-

A couple sunrise later, Fernflower, got well enough to move back to the warrior's den, but Goldenspots and Whiteleaf got sick with the Twisted Disease, most likely because they were her son and daughter, and visited her often.

"Thrushpaw, could you go out looking for herbs?" Poppywind called.

I turned to stare at her. "How in StarClan am I supposed to find herbs in the middle of leaf-bare?"

She shrugged. "If you see anything growing, and you're SURE it's not poisonous, bring it back."

I nodded, padding out of the thorn tunnel. Outside, the air was crisp and clean. I let my mind wander, and before I knew it, I was lost in a tangle of twolegplaces!

"Oh NO!" I yowled. I ran up and down the Thunderpath, trying to see anyway back to the forest, but my efforts were in vain. I ran by a huge twolegplace, and I stopped dead. I could hear dogs barking their heads off, and cats yowling like mad. I could also hear animals that I couldn't name. Being the curious type, I tentatively crept closer. A huge Twoleg opened a huge swinging board, so I slipped in. The floor in here was slippery and shiny. I spread my pads open to keep myself from falling over. Behind a huge, tall, shiny thing, a Twoleg was looking down at me. He crouched down next to me, making odd purring noises. Instead of bolting I stood, frozen. Very slowly, he slipped his odd, hairless, paws around me and lifted me off the ground. I yowled loudly. He ran his pad over my ears and cooed softly. He starting walking to another large structure, opened the huge swinging board, and placed me on the ground. Then he quickly stepped back and shut the board.

I leapt up, clawing at the board, but all it did was make a couple of shreds of the board come off.

"NO!" I screeched. "I CAN'T BE TRAPPED! MY CLAN NEEDS ME!"

"Will you quiet down PLEASE!" Somecat meowed from behind me in the darkness.

I slowly turned around. There were at least thirty cats staring at me.

"H-hi." I mewed cautiously. "I'm Thrushpaw. Where am I?"

The she-cat the yowled dipped her head. "I'm Mouse. Your in the animal shelter."

I cocked my head. "What's that?"

She shook her head. "You don't know anything, do you? They picked you up off the street, they bring you here, people come to adopt you, you go there, you're happy, and that's that!"

I was still confused, but I said, "Ok, how do you get adopted?"

She looked at me carefully. "Well, you have fluffy, soft fur, you're young, you're cute, so you'll be out of here in no time!"

As soon as she said that, the big board swung open, and a young Twoleg with two other big Twolegs walked in. The little one looked around, and then stared at me. She sat down and cooed. I crept forward, and then crouched down in front of her. She ran her chubby fingers down my back, then picked me up and placed me in her lap. Instincts told me to scratch her, but I realized, "if I get adopted, I'll be out of here!"

So instead, I purred, resting my head on her leg. Silently, I cursed under my breath. _If my Clan could see me now…_

It stood up, taking me with her. As she walked out the door, I heard Mouse call, "Good job! Hope you'll be happy!"

"I will!" I called back. "When I get back to my clan!"

The last thing I saw of her was the confused look on her face.

Suddenly, I was placed in a box and loaded into a monster! I yowled, but it was no good. The monster roared to life as I huddled in a box inside of its belly.

_Back at the forest…_

I was sorting through some herbs, when it struck me – where was Thrushpaw? If she were here, she would be feeding the sick cats their dose of herbs by now. Dropping the herbs, I padded out of my den. Spotting Thornpaw, I padded over and asked, "Hey, have you seen Thrushpaw?"

She turned her gaze on me. "Last time I heard, you sent her out to get herbs at dawn."

I nodded. "Yes, I did. But, have you seen her since?"

She shook her head. "Nope."

I sighed. "Well keep an eye out for her. She's missing."

Thornpaw nodded. "I'll alert Dapplestar."

I thanked her, and then turned my gaze at the sky. "Thrushpaw, where are you?"


	6. Chapter 5 : Escape!

Chapter 5

-Thrushpaw's POV-

I've been with the twolegs for half a moon, and it's been torture.

The first day I got there, they put on a choking kittypet collar and gave me a stupid name, Cutie. They fed me stinking kittypet pap, and gave me tainted water I couldn't bear to drink. I can't even attempt to escape because the twoleg fence is too flimsy to climb.

Let's face it. I'm trapped.

When the moon started to thin, the tree twolegs stood out in the yard. The big twoleg with long fur on her head picked me up, so I could see farther then I could whilst on the ground. The male twoleg pointed to a nest far in the distance and said some gibberish, but the one word I could understand was horses.

I realized with a jolt. The building far in the distance was the horse-place on WindClan territory!

I leapt out of the twoleg's arms and bolted for the nest. I ran to the window and hopped out it. Because I was in the twoleg's arms when I spotted the horseplace, so I scurried up a nearby tree. When I popped my head up on the tallest branch, I spotted a large nest and caught the faintest trace of horses on the breeze. After leaping down to the ground, I started padding through the confusing tangles of twolegplaces.


	7. Chapter 6 : A New Set of Paws : Swoop

Chapter 6

My three sunrises of walking have brought me to a dome building. It smelled like the forest inside, so I walked inside.

Inside were all the plants you could imagine! I smelled horsetail, yarrow, marigold, juniper, lavender, raspberry…you name it, and it was in here!

As I started to explore, I noticed a ragged tree with peeling bark and low hanging branches. The leaves smelled minty.

"Weird tree, huh? I hear the humans call in eucalyptus."

I turned to see a caramel colored she-cat sitting next to me.

"I'm Swoop." She meowed. "What's your name?"

"Thrushpaw." I replied. "What is this tree good for? I've seen it a lot where I live."

It was true. Poppywind discovered this tree, but she found no uses for it, though moss grew well on it.

"This tree's leaves are used in cough drops." She meowed.

"What?"

"It soothes humans throat and cure their cough. They eat it when they're sick."

Sick? Cough? That's it!

I took a leaf in my mouth and bit it. It had a minty taste that soothed my throat.

Could this be what I've been looking for?

"Bye Swoop." I called, turning to leave.

"Wait!" she meowed. "Could…I come with you?"

"What?! I live in the forest, you know."

"I know, I smelled the forest on your fur when you walked in, though I take it you've been with humans for a while. I do know how to hunt and fight. My human died and I've been living in here."

I was about to leave, but I reconsidered it. She was young and strong, another mouth to feed, but another set of paws to hunt!

"Ok." I meowed. "You can come. But you have to promise me you won't catch birds with twisty beaks. They make you sick."

She nodded, and the two of us set out for ThunderClan territory.

* * * * *

We're home! We're home!

In my mouth I had a bundle of eucalyptus leaves, Swoop standing beside me.

"Ok Swoop." I mumbled around the leaves. "Just pretend we've been here for the last few sunrises and you've returned from hunting. Drop your fresh kill on the pile, then follow me to the medicine cat den."

She nodded, picking up her thrush, crow, and blackbird. She had a knack for leaping for birds.

I squared my shoulders, then pushed my way through the thorn barrier. No one seemed to notice us. Swoop laid her kill on the pile, then followed me to the medicine cat's den.

Poppywind was laying by the entrance, laying out catmint to dry before she stored it.

I padded up to her and dropped my leaves in front of her.

"Thornpaw, why did you bring these leaves back? I told you, we need lavender."

Casting a glance over at Swoop, I replied in a low voice.

"I'm sorry Poppywind, I've forgotten what it looks like."

Poppywind sighed, rising to her paws. "Thornpaw, I've shown you three times. Please tr-"

Poppywind gasped when she saw me looking at her teasingly.

"Thrushpaw! You're back! You have a kittypet collar on? You brought a loner?" She babbled.

"Yes, I'm back." I meowed calmly. "I was captured by twolegs. They forced a kittypet collar on me. This is Swoop. She can be a warrior! I need to alert Dapplestar…"

Poppywind hung her head. "Dapplestar is dead." She rasped. "Her last two lives were taken by the illness."

I hung my head too. "Who is the new leader? Smokefur?" The smoky black tom was so annoying!

Poppywind shook her head. "He too was killed. Fernflower was granted her lives, and is now Fernstar."

I nodded. "I need to see her. I'll be right back. Swoop, follow me." I meowed. She nodded, and we scrambled up the tumble of rocks to Fernstar's den.


	8. Chapter 7 : Cure

Chapter 7

"Fernstar?" I called cautiously.

"Thrushpaw? Is that you? Please, come in. I scent another cat with you. Ask her to come in as well."

I padded into my leader's den, Swoop following behind me.

"Thrushpaw. I am pleased to see you are back." Fernstar meowed. "Who is this?"

"Swoop." I replied. "She…she wants to join ThunderClan."

Fernstar's eyes grew dark. "We cannot risk her safety. Yes, it would mean more paws to help hunt, but it also means another mouth to feed, another cat just waiting to get ill."

An exited screech came from outside. Fernstar rushed onto the Highledge. "What is it?"

A crowd had gathered near the fresh-kill pile. "Look!" One of the kits squeaked. "A thrush, crow, AND a blackbird!"

"It's a sign from StarClan!" A queen yowled. "The sickness will pass and prey will be abundant!"

"She can do that too." I mewed to Fernstar.

* * * * *

"So, you chew up the leaves, make them swallow the pulp, and they'll get better?" Poppywind mewed.

I nodded. Things were actually getting better. Swoopwing was catching birds so the Clan was never hungry, and the disease was starting to leave the cats.

"Please let these leaves cure the Clan." I mewed.

* * * * *

I followed Poppywind down the dimpled path to the Moonpool with the other medicine cats. As I crouched to drink the water, Poppywind meowed, "Wait."

We all turned our heads to look at her.

"Thrushpaw has found the cure that has saved the Clans." She meowed. "Surely there is no better time to reward her with her full medicine cat name?"

She looked up at the sky. "Spirits of StarClan, by my authority of Clan Medicine Cat, I give my apprentice her full clan name. From this moment on, her name shall be Thrushleaf. May she be able to heal her clan for many moons to come."


End file.
